Author: Tina Hesman Saey / Source: Science News
Some snippets of RNA can be a real pain.
A microRNA called miR-30c-5p contributes to nerve pain in rats and people, a new study finds.
A different microRNA, miR-711, interacts with a well-known itch-inducing protein to cause itching, a second study concludes. Together, the research highlights the important role that the small pieces of genetic material can play in nerve cell function, and may help researchers understand the causes of chronic nerve pain and itch.MicroRNAs help regulate gene activity and protein production. The small molecules play a big role in controlling cancer (SN: 8/28/10, p. 18) and other aspects of health and disease (SN: 2/20/16, p. 18). Usually, microRNAs work by pairing up with bigger pieces of RNA called messenger RNAs, or mRNA. Messenger RNAs contain copies of genetic instructions that are read by cellular machinery to build proteins. When microRNAs glom onto the messengers, the mRNA can be degraded or the microRNAs can prevent the protein-building machinery from reading the instructions. Either way, the result is typically to dial down production of certain proteins.
In the case of nerve pain, miR-30c-5p limits production of an important protein called TGF-beta that’s involved in controlling pain, María Hurlé, a pharmacologist at the University of Cantabria in Santander, Spain, and colleagues report August 8 in Science Translational Medicine. The researchers discovered the link in experiments with mice, rats and people.
In the rat experiments, researchers cut the sciatic nerve in the thigh, making the rodents more sensitive to pain caused by heat or cold.
These rats had more miR-30c-5p in their blood and cerebral spinal fluid than uninjured rats did, Hurlé and colleagues found. And the amount of the microRNA in the rats’ blood correlated with their pain sensitivity. People with nerve pain caused by a lack of blood flow to a limb also had elevated levels of the microRNA in their blood and…The post Tiny bits of RNA can trigger pain and itchiness appeared first on FeedBox.